"The more you knooooow..."
Today, I'm going to talk about the importance of having good wiper blades. At night, in rainy conditions, (as are found so often for us in the Pacific Northwest), spending $20 on wiper blades can save your life! Or, in some cases, can save you around, oh, $224.
For example, coming home from Salon last night (for those of you not in my day-to-day IRL world, this is not a beauty salon, but an informal gathering of talented artists in the portland area. I also get to attend.), having good wiper blades could have helped me realize that the car to my left as I crossed an intersection was actually a cop car, not just a white vehicle.
Now. I maintain (and said as much after being pulled over) that I was completely in the intersection while the traffic light was still completely yellow. To which the officer responds that in the great State of Oregon, and the lesser State of Rhode Island, the law stipulates that you come to a stop for a yellow light, as opposed to the other 48 states and the District of Columbia (his words) where you may 'proceed cautiously' through a yellow light. SO BE WARNED.
Also, I had expired tags, but I can get that reversed with paperwork. It was mildly amusing to watch the semi-sober guys look on and hear their "cop ticket" stories they were telling to each other as they stood outside the bar I was pulled over in front of. They gave me some very sympathetic waves.
But the rest of my day yesterday was pretty good. Given the amount of rolling stops, illegal U-turns, and going through lights that are yellow only in the hallowed halls of my memories, I will readily cough up for the times I get a ticket, even if I think it's undeserved.
But I will be buying some new wiper blades.
For example, coming home from Salon last night (for those of you not in my day-to-day IRL world, this is not a beauty salon, but an informal gathering of talented artists in the portland area. I also get to attend.), having good wiper blades could have helped me realize that the car to my left as I crossed an intersection was actually a cop car, not just a white vehicle.
Now. I maintain (and said as much after being pulled over) that I was completely in the intersection while the traffic light was still completely yellow. To which the officer responds that in the great State of Oregon, and the lesser State of Rhode Island, the law stipulates that you come to a stop for a yellow light, as opposed to the other 48 states and the District of Columbia (his words) where you may 'proceed cautiously' through a yellow light. SO BE WARNED.
Also, I had expired tags, but I can get that reversed with paperwork. It was mildly amusing to watch the semi-sober guys look on and hear their "cop ticket" stories they were telling to each other as they stood outside the bar I was pulled over in front of. They gave me some very sympathetic waves.
But the rest of my day yesterday was pretty good. Given the amount of rolling stops, illegal U-turns, and going through lights that are yellow only in the hallowed halls of my memories, I will readily cough up for the times I get a ticket, even if I think it's undeserved.
But I will be buying some new wiper blades.